It is for this reason that a number of methods have been drawn up in order to take account of all of these rules. The most frequently used ones are as follows:

- The Jefferson method: it is used today for the purposes of distributing seats under the name ofthe “highest average method” although it was originally invented for the purposes ofallocating seats among constituencies.
- The Webster method: corresponds to the Saint-Laguë method.
- The Hamilton method: this is method of the largest remainders. The snag with this mode of distribution is that it does not preclude the effects of the Alabama paradox.
- The Huntington method: the votes cast for each list are divided by the following series of numbers: √^---0 * 1 , √1 * 2 , √2 * 3 ,…, √^-(n − 1) * n . The seats are allocated in the same way as in the divisor method. This system yields arbitrarily at least one seat per constituency, as the first divisor is 0. This system has been adopted in the United States for the House of Representatives. It may be used for the purposes of allocating seats between parties, provided that the first division is not carried out. It is not possible to grant one seat to all the competing lists without exception.